England squad to skip domestic matches for army camp

TL;DR

England's Women's T20 World Cup squad will forgo domestic matches this weekend for a training camp with the British Army, focusing on resilience and performance under pressure. The camp precedes their first international match against New Zealand on May 10.

Key points

England's squad skips domestic matches for army camp
Focus on decision-making and resilience training
First international match on May 10 against New Zealand
World Cup campaign starts on June 12 against Sri Lanka

England Women's Cricket TeamWomen's T20 World CupNew Zealand Women's Cricket Team

England's squad for this summer's Women's T20 World Cup will skip this weekend's round of domestic matches for a camp with the British Army.

The 15-strong group will spend the weekend on a programme focusing on "decision-making, resilience and delivering high performance when the pressure is turned up", the management says.

The trip, at an undisclosed location in the UK, comes a week before the team's first international of the summer - the first of three one-day internationals against New Zealand on Sunday, 10 May.

Three T20s against the White Ferns follow before another three T20s against India. England's World Cup campaign begins against Sri Lanka on 12 June.

"We are extremely lucky to be able to send our newly selected World Cup squad into one of the best high-performance environments in the world," said the England and Wales Cricket's Board's managing director of women's cricket Clare Connor.

"I'm confident that what the players will experience and learn over the next few days will be priceless when it comes to performing in some of the pressure moments that a home World Cup will undoubtedly bring."

Such camps are not unheard of in cricket.

Before England's victory in the 2010-11 men's Ashes the squad took part in a five-day army bootcamp in a German forest.

While bowler James Anderson broke a rib during one boxing match, the camp was credited with bonding the squad together, but the repeat held in Staffordshire before the 2013-14 tour is often pointed to as the start of a doomed campaign.

Charlotte Edwards' England have not played an international fixture this winter and have instead held intra-squad camps as part of their preparations.

They missed a round of domestic 50-over matches earlier this month for a camp which focused on T20 skills.

With the squad meeting on Thursday for the series-opener in Chester-le-Street, it is unlikely players will take part in Wednesday's round of domestic matches either.

England have failed to win any of the six World Cups held across formats since their famous victory at home in 2017, with the presence of leaders in the squad and their ability to perform under pressure often questioned.